Monday, 30 May 2016

SPOILER Discussion - X-Men: Apocalypse (Part 2)

### SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! ###### SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! ### ### SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! ###"I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble..."Professor X & Magneto They are the heart of the X-Men series. Their relationship - which mostly comprises of a rivalry of ideologies and a ton of respect for each other - is the core that made the stories of the X-Men more than just about superheroes - but it reflects the social & political nature of humanity. Without them, the X-Men wouldn't be what they are now and what they represent. But anyway, about the characters themselves... I like Charles Xavier in this film. He is wiser than when we saw him in Days of Future Past, but he is still Charles. James McAvoy really humanizes him, especially when we see him interact with Moira. There is a lot of the humour coming from Charles Xavier...and they really are genuinely funny. Meanwhile, Erik Lensherr had to have another tragic story that propels him into the action. It was a tragic and powerful scene, too. However, I didn't find him too interesting for the most part of the film - although to see him turn good at the end was nice. It was touching for me to see him help rebuild the X-Mansion at the end. But more importantly... The exchange at the end between Charles and Erik...was perfect! Firstly, it was clearly a callback to the exchange at the end of the first X-Men film (again...memories). But I also like how their conversations always seem to have that high level of respect for each other...I like how they can be both friends & enemies at the same time. They seem to always have that clash of ideology in the end...but they have too much respect for each other and too powerful a friendship to be killing one another. And this is why I like the relationship between these two characters more than any other character relationship I've seen (more than Kirk and Spock, Iron Man and Cap, etc). Perhaps the best kind of relationship/interaction I've ever seen!Origin Story of the X-Men While this may be the 6th X-Men film...this is the true origin story of the X-Men. Why? What about the first X-Men film? In that film, the X-Men was already formed...and we're just seeing them in one of their missions with the addition of Wolverine & Rogue. What about X-Men: First Class? Well, that film was more of the origin story of Professor X and Magneto, and not the X-Men itself. Even in Days of Future Past, we see the X-Mansion empty, even. And only in Apocalypse do we see the X-Mansion finally running & fully functioning...and we also see the assembling of the core X-Men members: Cyclops, Jean Grey & Storm. So, apparently, while it only takes 4 years for the Avengers to assemble, and just about the same for the Justice League...I have been waiting for 16 years now to see the true assembling of the X-Men. And yes, this film had a lot of moments that struck me...like the time when Scott and Jean first met...and to see Scott show his powers for the first time to Charles. Because when I watched this, in hindsight, I was carrying the images of these characters of the original trilogy. So, its nice to finally witness their beginnings in the team. Again...rekindling memories."You're X-Men" The ending was also a very beautiful piece of a scene. It was a Danger Room scene, and it immediately simulates the sentinels we saw in DOFP. But more so, we get to see these characters in their classic costumes...Nightcrawler in red, Mystique in white...but most exciting of all: Cyclops' visor is so cool & classic!! And yes, seeing this ending is what really made it feel like the X-Men had just begun and the team had just been formed. Which is why I feel like I want to see more of them...I want to see the story continue and I want to see more adventure with these characters...please, Fox, make it happen!Essex Corp And finally, the Post-Credits scene - which I suspect would have left casual audiences in confusion. The name Essex would be unfamiliar to them, but fans of the X-Men would know that this refers to Nathaniel Essex AKA Mr Sinister...who was actually, at one point in time, a partner to Apocalypse himself. It doesn't look to be that way in here though, but more importantly, the question now is, what role will he play in this universe? From the looks of it, the most likely scenario is that he will play a big part in the upcoming Wolverine film (especially as we saw the scene take place in the Weapon X facility), and my guess is that we probably would only see him as the scientist Nathaniel Essex and not taking on the mantle of Mr Sinister yet. Just my speculation, though. And whether he will play a role in other films whatsoever is an answer we will probably receive sometime soon...